Introduction

Two further minority groupings that have traditionally been marginalised by criminologists are those consisting of older people, and people with disabilities. In criminology, there is a tendency to focus upon the experiences of young people, particularly as offenders, although some research in relation to the fear of crime and victimisation has included a consideration of older people. On the other hand, disabled people who experience crime have been labelled ‘invisible victims’ because crimes committed against these individuals are often hidden and not reported to agencies of the criminal justice system. Disability in relation to crime is a developing research area, particularly in relation to the experiences of mentally disordered offenders, where mental disorder might be viewed as a disability of mind.

This chapter presents key research and policy issues in relation to older people and people with disabilities, as offenders and victims of crime. Elder abuse is highlighted as a key issue, but it is stressed that older people can also be victims of a wide range of offences, including burglary, physical assault and corporate crime. Older people can also commit crime, and the proportion of older prisoners in jails in England and Wales has been rising over the last decade or so. Hate crimes are a significant issue for people with disabilities, leaving individuals feeling scared, embarrassed, humiliated and stressed. Increasingly, policy makers and agencies of the criminal justice system are considering the needs of people with disabilities, with special measures being implemented to help disabled victims and witnesses cope better with the criminal justice process. At the same time, mental disorder is widespread amongst the prison population, with the issue of the needs of people who suffer from mental illness who come into contact with the criminal justice system constituting increasing policy concern.

This chapter also explores some of the issues that the inclusion of identities in relation to ageing and disability pose for criminological knowledge construction. It is argued that research with older people and people with disabilities puts focus upon the body, the body as ageing or the body as ‘impaired’. At the same time, wider social and cultural processes, such as consumerism, individualism and valued norms in relation to being young and healthy, and how these influence experiences of ageing and/or disability are also of concern.